Energy management apparatus and method

Abstract

An energy management apparatus manages energy consumption of a machine, which has a supply part (14) for supplying energy and a consume part (10) for consuming the energy supplied by the supply part, so that the energy consumed by the consume part is positively saved. An operating part operates the consume part by using the energy supplied by the supply part. An acquisition part acquires an energy conversion characteristic, as an energy efficiency, from an input energy (40), (42) supplied to the consume part into an output energy output (44), (46) from the consume part. A change part changes an operating condition of the consume part based on the acquired energy efficiency so as to improve an actual value of the energy efficiency.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to energy management techniques and, more particularly, to an energy management technique to manage energy consumption of a machine having an energy supply part and an energy consuming part that consumes energy supplied by the energy supplying part.BACKGROUND ART[0002]There is known a technique of managing energy in a machine, which has a supply part for supplying energy and a consume part for consuming the energy supplied by the supply part. Such a technique is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 8-507671. One example of the supply part is a battery cell as an electric-energy accumulating part, and another example is a generator as an electric-energy generating part. On the other hand, one example of the consume part is an electric motor that is driven to provide a drive force to a machine.[0003]In a machine that performs a work, energy is consumed to as to perform the work. The energy to perform a ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides an improved energy management apparatus and method for machines that use energy. The apparatus includes an operating part that is operated by the machine's energy supply, an acquisition part that measures the energy efficiency of the machine's energy consumption, and a change part that adjusts the operating condition of the machine's consume part based on the energy efficiency. This allows for the efficient management of energy consumption by optimizing the operating condition of the consume part. The apparatus may also include first and second change permission / prohibition means to allow for the change in operating condition based on certain conditions, such as the difference between the operation request and the actual output energy, and the energy efficiency. The invention can be used in movable machines, such as automobiles, motorcycles, and electric equipment, to manage energy consumption and improve energy efficiency.

Problems solved by technology

In any case, energy consumed by a machine is limited, and, thus, there is a great demand for saving energy while achieving a target operating condition.

In such as case, it is not easy to achieve both the target operating condition and the saving of energy consumption.

However, judging from economical viewpoints or physical viewpoints such as weight, size, etc., it cannot be said that the above-mentioned means is a realistic solution.

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